3 Years Later
by redheadedbella
Summary: Claire's sudden and mysterious return to West Chester throws everyone off. Is she there to stay? Review please! Chapter 11 is up! possibly complete....
1. Chapter 1

Claire's Christian Louboutin heels clacked on the stone steps. Her stomach was doing flips and spins and god knows what else. She knocked on the door ever so slightly. She fidgeted as she waited; twirling the silk ribbon on her gold BCBG dress, fixing her mask and finally, the gigantic oak doors creaked open. "Uh, hi." She said, "I'm here for the masquerade?" The butler moved back and gestured for her to come in.

"Welcome, Madame." Was all he said before walking away. Claire could hear the thump of dance music coming from behind a pair of oak doors. She was almost a hour late but it was worth it. She couldn't screw this up. Massie would be shocked to see her now. She hoped this would work out. She walked up to the doors and went inside. There were about 300 teens dancing to some unfamiliar techno song. A girl with glossy brown hair wearing a long silver gown was sitting on a throne and a red carpet led up towards her. There three girls on her right side. A tall, voluptuous brunette whose neckline was plunging and her skirt was short. A redhead, not all that tall, but whose curls were perfect. The last was a tall blonde, her hair was in a high ponytail and her baby doll dress showed off her perfectly toned legs. The girls were giggling and pointing at various people in the crowd. Massie got up and made her way through the crowd, the rest of the pretty committee following at her heels. The girls were headed straight for her but they didn't seem to recognize her. As Massie walked by her, slamming into Claire's shoulder.

"Excuse you! You're in my way." Massie eyes were narrowed through her mask.

"Ehmygawd!! Claire?!" She shrieked. Everyone turned around and looked. Claire slipped off her gold mask and revealed herself. The crowd erupted into conversations. Girls were yelling random things out. Claire heard one girl yell, "I heard she got kicked off the set!" Claire rolled her eyes. Disregarding her former classmates.

"Hey Massie." Claire's grin was a triumphant one. She had succeeded. "Hey dolls! How are you?" She glanced at the pretty committee. Claire could tell they were trying to force back glares. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch lately. Work has been insane. You would not believe some of the things I have to do." The party had resumed. People had gone back to the dance floor as if nothing had happened. A group of about five guys were working their way through the crowd. At the head was a tall boy with jet black hair and one blue eye and one green eye.


	2. Chapter 2

The guys joined them. A tall, gorgeous boy with a baseball cap on put his arm around Alicia's waist while the others stood quietly watching the conversation unfold. "Kuh-laire! What are you here?!" Massie didn't seem annoyed that Claire was back but she didn't seem thrilled either.

"I'm in the city filming and I have a few weeks off before filming starts so my mom and I came to visit. She's at your house right now." Claire's smile widened. "I'm just so excited to be back!" She looked around at her former friends. Her eyes stopped on Cam. "Hey Cam. Long time no see!" Claire walked over and hugged her bewildered ex-boyfriend. As Claire fluttered around the group Massie looked her up and down. She was wearing a pleated metallic gold dress with a silk ribbon below the bust. Her heels had gold ribbon that wrapped up her calves. She was a perfect ten. Her hair was still blonde but her style was much edgier. She was very basic in the make-up department but it worked for her. She was almost a perfect ten. _Damn. _Massie thought. _This is my party. It's as if Claire planned to ruin my day._ At this point all of the guys except were gone except for Cam and Derek. Josh and Alicia were off dancing but Kristen and Dylan were still right there. Claire was talking to Kristen about soccer and she seemed genuinely interested. Dylan was staring at her manicure completely bored. Cam and Derek were both staring at Claire, she was grinning, obviously loving the attention.

The music started to slow down and the DJ spoke. "Alright, here's one for all you couples out there." Claire turned around but not quickly enough. All she saw was the back of Cam's head, he was being led to the dancefloor by a tall, lithe redhead. Massie had started back to her throne leaving Derek and Claire alone.

"Hey Derek," Claire said, "wanna dance?" Derek didn't even answer. He just stuck out his hand and the two walked onto the dance floor.


	3. Chapter 3

The party was winding down. Most of the guests had already left and the DJ was packing up his things. Massie and the rest of the PC were standing at the door saying their goodbyes. Derrington had already left but the rest of the guys were hanging around waiting for their girlfriends. Claire was sitting at a table chatting with some LBR, she probably would have gone home when Derek had offered her a ride but, she wanted to talk to Massie. Finally, everyone had gone home, only the guys, the PC and Claire remained. Massie grabbed her stuff while the rest of the PC said goodbye to their boyfriends. Claire, surprisingly enough, wasn't at all bothered by Cam and Dylan's kiss. True. Claire had dated guys while she had been in L.A. but Cam had always been in the back of her mind. She was suddenly pulled out of her daze by Massie's high pitched squeal. Claire looked up just in time to see Connor Foley in Massie's tight embrace. She got up and walked over towards the group of friends. "Hey Velvet." He said, he sounded as cool as ever. "Happy Birthday." Massie let go of him just as Claire was coming up behind them.

"Rooty. You missed the party." She sounded more whiny than flirty, at least that's what Claire thought.

"What do you mean I missed the party. It's just getting started." Claire softly cleared her throat. Massie and Connor turned around. Connor suddenly stuck his hands in his pockets and mumbled, "Hey Claire." Claire raised her hand awkwardly.

"Connor." Was all she said, her voice was completely unwavering. The pretty committee exchanged glances. Massie did not look all to pleased. But by this time there was more than just this for her to be mad about.

"I was looking for you." He said quietly. "I heard you were filming here so I figured I'd come for a visit. I heard about the party so I assumed I would find you here somewhere." He spoke quickly, as if giving an explanation for something. The entire pretty committee including Massie seemed completely in the dark.

"HELLO!" Massie stomped her foot. "Are you two just going to ignore us now?" Connor took a step towards Massie, clearly not even thinking about her question.

"We should talk." He said quietly before grabbing her hand. Claire quickly pulled it away.

"Connor," she could feel tears rising up. "I can't talk anymore. You have to choose." She took a pause, and wiped her eyes, without even considering the mascara and liner that would smear. "I am so sick of talking to you. Either you want me or you don't. I need to know because I am so goddamn sick of putting my life on hold for this." Claire grabbed her purse and began to walk quickly out of the hall. "I'm grabbing a cab Massie. If my mom wants to know I'll be at the hotel." She shouted behind her before breaking into a run. Connor quickly hugged Massie.

"Happy Birthday. Here." He handed her a neatly wrapped package and took off after Claire. By the time Connor made it outside Claire was getting into cab. "CLAIRE!" He yelled but it was too late. She slammed the door shut and the cab pulled away. _I'm not letting you get away that easily._ He thought to himself. Connor whipped out his cell phone and pressed the 3 key.

"Hello?" A voice on the other end answered.

"Claire, I—" He heard a click and then nothing. "Shit!" He threw his phone down just as the pretty committee came out of the building.

"Connor! What the hell was that?" Massie yelled. He looked like he was in a daze.

"Where is she staying?" He said. He seemed almost desperate.

"Wh-What?" Massie stammered. All four girls were standing there with blank looks. _How could he want Kuh-laire over me?_ Massie was so confused. Connor could obviously tell that. He asked again,

"Where is Claire staying??" He was really serious.

"I don't know…she didn't really say but you can--" Alicia quickly piped up.

"She's staying at the Larson on State Street." She shrank back when she saw Massie's glare. Massie quickly gave her a patented "You're forgiven" look and turned back to face Connor.

"Thanks. Do you think I could borrow one of your phones?" Kristen was the first to pull out her phone. She handed it over, trying to hold back a grin. Even though they had no idea what was going on he was still _gorgeous_ and of course, famous. He called a cab and quickly left. The girls left and returned to Massie's house for their annual sleep-over.

**Review Please!!! Sorry about the ending. It's kind of awful. I'll make a new chapter soon. **


	4. Chapter 4

Claire collapsed on the king size bed in her suite. She was exhausted. Her makeup was ruined. She had cried the entire cab ride back. _How did everything get so screwed up? _She thought. Claire was startled by a knock on the door of her hotel room. "Ugh. Connor." She said under her breath. She got up and looked out the peephole and was surprised to the see the pretty committee standing in the hallway. They were carrying bags of some sort. Massie raised her hand and knocked again. Claire unlocked and opened the door. A grin was spread wide across her face. "Hey guys! What's up?"

"Well," Massie said. "we figured we'd bring our Friday night sleepover to you." She giggled excitedly. "We missed you so much." The other three girls nodded in agreement. Claire hugged Massie.

"I missed you guys too! I was so worried you would be mad that we'd lost touch." Alicia laughed. It's all forgotten. The girls dumped their bags of makeup and clothing on the bed and sat down. Massie pulled out her macbook and set it down on the desk. It was covered in purple Swarovski Crystals.

"Brandon told me he'd message with the guys in about a half hour." Massie said. "Let's get ready!" the girls all giggled. They raced for the bathroom, Claire and Alicia made it in first so the other three were forced to go pick out their clothes. Claire was surprised to see Massie graciously go into the other room and get changed with Kristen and Dylan. Everything was back to the way it used be, Claire couldn't have been happier. She and Alicia giggled as they wiped their faces off and put on their makeup. Suddenly there was a knock on the hotel room door.

"Claire! It's me!" Claire and Alicia darted out of the bathroom and the girls gathered by the door. "Claire!" the voice yelled again. "It's me, Connor! We need to talk just let me in." Massie thought to herself. _Gawd. What happened between them? He's, like, on the verge of tears. _

"I'll be right back." Claire whispered. Apparently he'd gotten her to feel bad enough too. She opened the door and slid out quickly. Shutting the door behind her. All four girls huddled against the door. Alicia ran to get an empty glass from the kitchenette. Kristen let out a slight giggle. _Sssh! _The rest of the girls turned and glared at Kristen.

Claire and Connor stood out in the hall. She was completely silent. She loved him so much. Even if he had—Claire stopped herself. She didn't even want to think about it. "Claire. Look," he said quietly, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could make up for what I did. I love you so much. I don't want to hurt you. I tried to leave you alone. I thought that's what would be best for us but I can't. I miss you so much. Please come back to me. I promise I won't do anything like that again." He was starting to tear up. _Wow,_ Claire thought, _how did we get like this. He's crying. No guy's ever cried for me before. Except Cam. God, I miss Cam. _She thought. Suddenly a wave of feelings came over her. They stood in silence for a moment.

"I-I don't know." She said quietly. She walked over and kissed him softly on the cheek. "I have to figure a few things out." She walked back into the hotel room and went straight to the bathroom. She closed the door, completely ignoring her friend's questions. She sat down on the toilet and let out a huge sob. She put her face in her hands. Suddenly the door swung open revealing the four girls. Their faces were full of concern. Claire looked up and gave them a trembling smile. "Hey." She said quietly. The girls all embraced her, Massie even started to tear up. They all stood up at once and went into the other room.

**A/N okay so I know the ending a little annoying but I didn't know how else to transition into the next chapter. I'm open to suggestions. **


	5. Chapter 5

It was only shortly after Connor had left. Claire had dried her eyes. Judi had volunteered to stay at the Blocks' so the girls to have the suite all to themselves. They were in the middle of a game of "Would you rather…" when a video chat request popped up on Massie's laptop. The girls all squealed and jumped off the bed, rushing over to the computer they grabbed chairs and set them down at the table. They had done their makeup and were looking gorgeous so there was nothing left to worry about except what the guys would say. Massie was really concerned about the potential Cam, Claire and Dylan triangle but, tried to ignore her worries. _Claire would never do that. _She thought. She quickly accepted and Cam, Brandon, Derrington, Chris, Kemp, Griffin and Josh popped up on screen.

"Hey Ladies." Brandon said.

"Hey." The girls replied coolly. Massie looked over each guy. She slowed when she got to Cam. He looked kind of nervous. When she got to Derrington she did a double take. Obviously the other girls had noticed it too. Derrington had a huge bruise on his right eye. "Ehmawgawd! Derek!" Massie said. "What happened to you?" He put his hand up to his eye.

"Oh. Uh, I got hit. It was nothing big." He said. Massie could tell there was more to the story.

"_Who _hit you?" He glanced over at Cam who was looking down at something.

"Uhhh." He said. Suddenly they were interrupted by the vibration of dylan's cell phone. She flipped it open and read the message. WE NEED TO TALK NOW. CALL MY CELL. CAM.

"I'll be right back." Dylan said. She went out into the hallway and closed the door. The girls watched Dylan leave and when they turned around Cam was gone.

"So." Kemp started. "What's up Claire?" Claire was glad to have finally been noticed.

"I'm good. I'm glad to see all of you guys again. The people in Hollywood aren't as nice." Claire was exhausted but being back with her friends was really helping her deal with everything that was going on right now. She glanced at the clock. _12:30, _it read. Derrington brought something about soccer up and only Kristen was listening. Even the guys seemed kind of bored.

Dylan came back in quietly and sat down on the bed behind the desk. She didn't do anything else while the rest of them were joking and laughing. Claire noticed that Cam hadn't come back. All four of the girls knew something had happened.

About a half hour later the girls said goodnight and signed off. Throughout the entire conversation Massie noticed Derek was paying a lot of attention to Claire. Asking her every time he got a chance. Massie put that in the back of her mind. First, they had to find out what was wrong with Dyl. She had fallen asleep despite the volume of the group. They shook her awake, completely unable to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened. "Come on Dylan! Wake up!" She hardly budged. "Dylan! Come on!" Finally, after ten minutes of shaking and shouting, Dylan woke up.

"_Gawd_." She sound annoyed. "_What?!" _She glared at the girls.

"What happened? We know something happened with Cam." Alicia said. The girls nodded. They sat in a circle on the bed waiting for Dylan to speak.

"Fine." She said curtly. "But Claire has to tell us what happened with Connor." Massie smirked. She was so proud Dylan was smart enough to do it. Claire opened her mouth to protest but shut it slowly when she saw her friend's faces. _What can it hurt?_ She thought.

**A/N Sorry bout this. It's kind of a filler chapter. Next Chapter will be better. Also sorry about the short chapters time has been of the essence lately. Review please!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N thanks so much for comments people! Sorry I haven't updated for so long. Finals/Midterms are coming up fast! **

Claire could remember that evening so well despite her attempts to try and forget it and Connor Foley forever.

FLASHBACK

_The phone rang three times before he answered. "Hullo?" He sounded like he'd just woken up._

_"Hey Connor, It's Claire." There was some shuffling in the background then he answered. _

_"What's up?" He said. Wow, she thought, he's seems somewhat interested in what she was saying, for once. _

_"Mike invited me to his daughter's sweet thirteen and I was hoping you could be my date? I really don't want to go alone." She heard her chuckle on the other line. _

_"Sure, Dollface! When do I pick you up?" Claire smiled. His cockiness actually made him more appealing to Claire. _

_"Seven good? We can be fashionably late. The party's formal so wear something nice!" _

_"What. Are you saying there are times when I don't look nice?" Claire enjoyed their chats. Maybe we should go out more often. Claire thought to herself. She smiled. _

_"Pick me up at seven?" Was her reply. He chuckled and replied. _

_"Seven. See ya in little while." Claire put the phone down and glanced at the clock. 6:30 it read. Damn, she thought. She ran around getting ready and the time passed quickly. She was just getting into the living room when someone knocked on the front door. She opened the door and stood face to face with none other than CAM! Claire was so shocked she could hardly keep from falling over. "Oh. Uh…Cam! Wh-what are you doing here?" She stammered. He stepped through the doorway despite Claire's obvious shock. _

_"Visiting an old friend." He said smiling. Claire's stomach thumped. She put her hair behind one ear, nervously. "How are you?" He gave her a hug. She stood still not even moving her arms to embrace him. This is too weird, she thought. _

_"He-hey." She said uneasily. All of these insecurities and memories of West Chester came flooding back. She half expected Massie to come walking in the front door too. "What are you doing here?" All the while wishing she could kiss him and return to West Chester. _

_"My dad's here on business and we have a few days off of school because of a water main break." He didn't seem awkward at all. He seemed like the same old, sweet, kind Cam Claire had loved back home. Just then Connor strolled in the already open front door. _**A/N Claire and her family live in an apartment. **

_"Claire? You ready to--" he stopped short when he saw Cam stand in the middle of the living room. Claire gasped when she saw the bouquet of yellow roses and the small turquoise bag he was carrying. _

"_Wow, Connor, I don't know what to say." She walked over and grabbed his hand, leading him towards Cam. "Cam Fisher, this is Connor Foley. Connor Foley, this is Cam Fisher." Connor stuck out his hand and rigidly shook Cam's hand. The two boys were glaring at each other. "Cam." Claire said. "I'm really sorry but Connor and I have plans." Cam nodded slowly. _

"_I'll call you later." He said, still glaring at Connor. He gave Claire a kiss on the cheek and left. _

"_I brought these for you." Connor said sheepishly. Claire was surprised to see him acting this way. "Look," he said quietly, "I really like you Claire. I know I don't have the best rep. when it comes to this kind of stuff. But, give me a chance and I promise I won't ditch you for the next 'hot blonde' I see. I really, really want to be with you and only you." Claire smiled. This is what she had been hoping for but she thought there was no way it would happen. Connor Foley and Commitment didn't mix often and when they did, it didn't tend to work out. He stepped towards her, she didn't move. _

A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE ABOVE FLASHBACK AND A FEW DAYS BEFORE THIS STORY BEGINS.

_Honk. Honk. Honk. Claire groggily turned over in her bed and glanced at the alarm clock. 6:40, it flashed. "Shit!" She jumped out of bed and ran around her room. She had to be on set in 20 minutes. Grabbing the closest top and jeans she could find she ran into her bathroom and shut the door. She threw on her clothes and looked at her hair, it was completely disheveled. "Maybe staying out til eleven isn't such a good idea…"she said to herself. Running a brush through her tangled hair, she picked up her Blackberry and called her chauffeur, Marco. "Marco?" she said, "We need to go __**now.**__" After she had hung up she gathered everything she needed and shoved it all into her huge Marc Jacobs bag. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a power bar and vitamin water out of the fridge. Her mother was in the kitchen eating breakfast and reading the newspaper. _

_"Sweetheart," Judi said, " where are you off to in such a rush? It's only six forty five." Claire groaned as she returned to the kitchen. _

_"Work, Mom! I have to be on set in 15 minutes!!" Judy seemed completely oblivious to her daughter's urgency. _

_"Well," she sighed. "Have a nice day dear." She unfolded her newspaper as Claire dashed out the front door and straight into the car. She rubbed her arms, all she had on was ¾ length tee shirt. She glanced up and saw Marco's raised eyebrows in the rearview mirror. _

"_A little chilly out there Miss?" She smiled, obviously embarrassed and sat back in her seat. Without another word they were off. For the entire fifteen minute car ride Claire was off in her own little world. She thought about Connor. Playing out their last date, thinking about when she'd go out with him again. They'd been a couple for three weeks now and he showed no signs of boredom or regret. Claire gave a contented sigh and stared out the window. _

_They arrived at the set and Claire nearly hurt herself getting out of the car. She didn't even wait for Marco to come open her door. She sprinted to her trailer and made it inside just in time to see the clock strike seven. She sighed and sat down at the small table. She wasn't alone for long. One of her co-stars, Sarah came into her trailer. The door slamming behind her, "Unbelievable!" She said sharply. "It's bad enough I have to share a trailer with her but she's got her stupid boyfriend in there 'visiting' and she freaking kicked me out! Ugh!" She threw herself down on the couch across from Claire. _

"_Come on," Claire said encouragingly, "it can't be that bad." Sarah sat straight up and walked over, taking a seat across the table from Claire. _

"_Oh. It is. She is so diva-ish. It drives me insane. I just want to get out of there!" She paused for a moment. Obviously thinking. "I just wish I had a friend who would share their trailer during my time of need but, alas," throwing her hand against her forehead dramatically, "I have no friends in Hollywood." Claire rolled her eyes and stood up. _

"_Come on," she said, "let's go get your stuff." Sarah giggled and the two girls walked across the lot to Sarah's trailer. _

_When they got to the door, Claire could hear shrieks of laughter and giggles coming from inside, "Sounds like they're having fun." Claire shrugged. _

"_Oh," Sarah said, "I bet they are." Sarah opened the door and went inside, Claire followed close behind her. They were greeted with the sight of Abby Boyd, their obnoxious co-star, sitting on the lap of some guy. Obviously, her latest conquest and soon to be ex-boyfriend, his back was turned so Claire couldn't really tell who it was. Sarah rolled her eyes and walked to grab her bag. Claire stood waiting while Sarah tried to break them up long enough to tell Abby she was leaving and probably wouldn't come back. They broke apart and both turned, Claire tried to catch a glimpse of his face but Abby's hand was blocking it. Sarah motioned towards Claire and Abby and her boyfriend turned to look. It was then that Claire's eyes met those of Connor Foley's! Her boyfriend, not Abby's! Connor tried to stand up but Abby wouldn't get off his lap. _

"_Claire! Wait, I can ex--" Claire could feel her eyes welling up with tears. _

"_I trusted you." Claire could hardly hold back tears. Just as he managed to stand up, she took off, sprinting. Claire could hear his footsteps behind her getting closer but she didn't even dare turn around. She got into her trailer and slammed the door in Connor's face. She locked it and ignored his banging. _

"_Claire! Come on!" He hit the door hard. "I just need to explain! Please let me in! I know we can work through this!" He kept knocking. Claire was afraid he might knock the door completely down. She picked up her phone and pressed speed dial #4. _

_Sarah answered. "Claire? What the hell was that?" Claire took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. _

"_I'll ex-explain t-to y-y-you later." Claire choked out. "C-can you call sec-security and have C-c-connor F-foley re-removed from the s-set?" Claire burst into sobs. _

"_Yeah, no problem." Both girls hung up. Claire sat down on the couch and sobbed. She was so humiliated. He had gone behind her back and made out with someone else. Not just anyone either, Abby Boyd, her least favorite person in the world. She grew angrier with every thought. Got up and went into the small bathroom. She splashed water on her face and dried it with the small washcloth. She looked at herself in the mirror. She remembered West Chester. She remembered Massie and the PC and Cam. She looked at her reflection. Her hair was longer and thicker than it had been, she wore make-up something used to hardly ever do. Despite everything, she still saw a flash of the old Claire, the meek, little seventh grader who wore Keds and her first day in Hollywood spilled water over the front of her t-shirt and whose friends saw her as an attachment easily removed. God, she thought, I miss that. Claire was startled when her assistant, Marissa came in. _

"_Hair and Make-up now." She yelled. Claire took one last look at herself, took a deep breath and left the trailer. _


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Sorry I'm not writing long enough chapters. I'll try to write longer ones though! Promise! **

As Claire finished her story she looked at all of the girls. Each seemed nervous to even

say anything about what had happened. Even Massie was fiddling with her charm

bracelet, a dead giveaway she was nervous. Kristen glanced at the phone as if willing it

to ring and break the awkward silence. Dylan surprised Claire the most though. She

seemed to not at all be bothered by the fact that her boyfriend, of two years, according to

Alicia, had gone to visit Claire in L.A. when he was supposed to be in San Francisco.

Alicia finally piped up, "Wait, so _Abby Boyd_ is going to be in this movie too?" Claire

looked down at her hands.

"Uh, yeah." She looked up. "Originally is was supposed to be Lauren Marker

(**A/N If your name is Lauren Marker, this isn't you.) **but she's in rehab so…" Claire

glanced at Dylan who hadn't spoken since Claire had begun her story. "Dyl?" She spoke

hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh. Yeah," She said sarcastically. "My boyfriend dumped me for my friend who

he says he's in love with. I just found out he tried to cheat on me and now your surprise

return has ruined everything!" The other girls sat quietly, obviously not wanting to join

in. Claire jumped up.

"What is your problem? It's not like I stole Cam from you. I saw you guys were

together and I let it go." Her voice softened. "I really don't want Cam, Dyl. He and I have

great memories but that's all we'll ever have. I fell for Connor. I can't just snap out of it."

Massie finally spoke up.

"You fell for Connor?? How could you fall for him? He's such a player. He

doesn't even care about you." Claire turned to face Massie.

"He does care, Mass. He was crying. For me! No guy has ever done that before.

He seemed really afraid of losing me." Massie rolled her eyes. _Claire can be so gullible. _

She thought.

"Kuh-laire, he's an actor in case you haven't forgotten. He can bring on the

waterworks whenever he pleases." Claire looked defeated. She fell on the bed and let out

a heavy sigh.

"Gawd. I hate this. I miss those days when all we were focused on was clothes

and boys. Now it's so different. We've all got these insane relationships with guys and

they're even starting to come between us." Kristen, who had hardly said anything that

evening, spoke up.

"Gawd, Kuh-laire. This is reality. Duh. Drama comes with reality, that's why

reality shows are so interesting." She flopped down on the gigantic bed. The were silent

for quite and eventually they all fell asleep. That is, all except Claire.

Claire laid in her sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling, like she had been for hours. _4:23, _

her alarm clock flashed. She closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep but she

couldn't. She needed to think. She got up quietly and grabbed her jacket out of the closet.

She still had her huge blue down jacket from 7th grade. She couldn't give it up even if it

was a fashion "don't". She pulled it on, grabbed the hotel key, her phone and went out the

door. She walked down the street, she wasn't sure where she was going but she just

needed to think. It was freezing, considering it was December and 4:30 in the morning.

Occasionally some car would pass her but, for the most part, West Chester was

completely dead. Claire had been walking with her head down, only looking up when she

had too. She heard something next to her and glanced up. But, she didn't see anything It

took her a minute to realize she was standing in front of Cam's house.

_Clink. Clink. Clink. _Cam woke with a start. The combination of his dream and the

clinking had startled him. Though, normally he was a fairly light sleeper, tonight was

worse than normal. Something as slight as a footstep on the berber carpet in the hallway

could wake him. He glanced at the window just in time to see a small pebble hit the

glass. Obviously, the source of the "clinking". He walked over to window and looked out.

He could make out the figure of a person but he couldn't tell who it was. He grabbed his

jacket and, quietly as possible, made his way downstairs. He opened the front door

slipped out, not even bothering to close it all the way. "_Claire?!"_ he hissed.

"Uh. Hey." She gave him a small wave. He walked quickly towards her.

"What are you doing here? It's got to be like--" she cut him off.

"It's 4:30 in the morning." She giggled nervously.

"So," he cleared his throat. "Why are you here?"

"Well," she started. "I'm filming in New York and my mom thought--" this time

it was his turn to interrupt.

"No. I mean why are you _here_? In front of my house at 4 in the morning." He

laughed.

"Oh. Well, uh…" she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I just went

for a walk and wound up here. I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind." Claire watched

as Cam's face filled with concern.

"Do you want to talk? I know I'm your ex-boyfriend and all but we're also

friends. Remember?" Claire sighed.

"I'd like that." She said, for the first time she actually made eye contact with him,

and her insides flipped. They stood on the sidewalk and stared at each other for a few

moments before she looked away. He turned towards the backyard.

"Here," he said, "We'll sit on the rocking bench in the backyard." They walked to

the backyard. All the while Cam was trying to restrain himself. _I want to grab her hand _

_so badly. She's so gorgeous, I mean I've seen her on TV and in magazines but she's even _

_more beautiful in person! I can't grab her hand. She trusts me and if I do anything rash _

_I'll just send her running. _Claire was so nervous, they walked to the rocking chair and sat

down. Leaving a considerable amount of space between them. "What's up? There's

obviously something bothering you."

"Well, why else would I be wandering around West Chester in the wee hours of

the morning?" she let out a small laugh. "I've just got a lot on my mind. These past few

weeks have been insane. I thought I was falling for Connor but then he cheats on me.

Then coming back here and there's the tiny problem of a triangle between you, me and

Dylan. Who for some reason is convinced that you're in love with me." Cam had to hide

a grimace as she finished her rant.

"Wow." He said. "That is a lot."

"It wouldn't be quite as bad if he hadn't made out with my co-star and then

followed me here asking for forgiveness. I thought he was really truly sorry about what

he did. I mean he was crying. But then Massie made a point that he's probably faking it.

After all, he is an actor. But then again, why would he follow me here, he can obviously

have any girl he wants." Claire took a deep breath and put her head back. They were

reclined enough for her to see the stars. "Cam?" she heard him let out a grunt.

"I missed you. So much." He smiled and put his arm around her, pulling her close

to him.

"I missed you too, Claire." Claire smiled to herself and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Claire awoke with a start. She glanced around her. Massie and Alicia were

sharing the bed and Kristen and Dylan were on either side of Claire. She sat up and

looked at the clock. It read, _7:46._ Had she dreamt all of that? Claire got up and walked

into the living room. **A/N Claire has a huge suite so there's a kitchen, bedroom, **

**bathroom and living room. ** She looked in the closet, her jacket was hanging as it had

been last night. Restlessly, she sat down on the couch, then immeadiately, got up and

moved to the kitchen. Grabbing a water bottle out of the mini bar she walked over and

opened the patio doors. Letting out a deep breath, she stepped out onto the small balcony.

It didn't overlook much. Claire could see a few boutiques and she could see a

neighborhood of over sized houses but that was all. As she looked out over the houses,

one stood out to her. It was a large stone Colonial smack in the middle of the street. She

looked down the street, in the half inch of snow that had appeared since yesterday, there

were footprints leading to a medium size colonial on one of the street corners. She

studied the house before recognizing it. "_Cam's house!" _she whispered. "Am I in love

with Cam?!" Claire questioned aloud. She nearly fell over when a voice behind her

replied.

"I don't know. You tell me." Claire gasped. She could hardly stand to turn around

and face her friend.

**Thanks y'all for the reviews. I feel awful bad that I haven't been writin' as much lately. I've just been soo busy. Review please! I know it's a little weird around the part with Cam. Who do you think Claire should end up with! Give me suggestions! Even if you don't say Connor or Cam, I'll still take it into consideration! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so very much for all of your reviews! I will pay tribute to you all when I am finished. Now that that is settled, back to the story. **

Claire turned to face Kristen. Hands on hips, Kristen's eyes were narrowed. She was the only one (other than Dylan, of course) who hadn't welcomed Claire. She seemed to have been forced to go along with what Massie did. "Well?!" she tapped her foot.

"I-I don't know." Claire stammered. She looked down at her feet. Kristen rolled her eyes.

"Whore." With that said, she turned on her heel and went inside to rejoin the other girls, who had since woken up and were getting ready to leave. Claire sighed and went back into the room. She went to the kitchen, setting down her water she heard her name said from the bedroom. She walked quietly over and hid to side of the doorway, listening.

"Gawd." She heard Massie say. "I just wish she would go away. Claire is so D2M." Claire had to hold back a gasp. _How can they be saying this? I thought they were my friends!_ She thought. Dylan giggled.

"Gawd, Mass. For a while I was worried you actually liked her."

"You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"I know right? I mean, what's the deal with Connor? She thinks he's like "in love" with her or something. Everyone knows he only wants one thing. Hello! He's fifteen year old boy, not to mention a celebrity. She's "hot" so he wants her as arm candy. Whatevs." Claire couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her phone off the desk and went into the hall. She dialed a number. Finally, someone on the other line picked up.

"Mickey? It's Claire. Sorry to wake you!" she said sweetly.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I was already up. I had a meetin' with Lauren. She gettin' out next week. We had to talk damage control." Claire smiled. She actually got along with Lauren, as long as she wasn't drunk. "So," he said, "what's up?"

"I was wondering if it was possible to enroll me at a local high school while I'm here filming. Obviously I wouldn't go every day because of filming but, a lot of my old friends are here and it'd be nice to seem them every once in a while. Plus, I'm always so bored on my days off. It'd give me something to do." She heard him take a deep breath.

"Alright. Let's talk to your mom and see what she thinks. Hell, we could probably just keep you out there. New York is a prime film spot right now." Claire grinned.

"Thanks Mickey, you're such a doll." She flipped her phone shut and went back into the room. The girls had just brought the last of their things out of the bedroom.

"Where'd you go?" Massie asked Claire.

"I went for a walk. I wanted to go out in the snow before it got really busy and everything." Claire considered telling her friends the "good news" but she decided to wait until the perfect moment to make the announcement.

A few days had gone by since Claire sleepover with the girls. She hadn't heard from Connor or Cam and considering that the coming week would be Claire first week back at her old school, she was glad of it. She still wasn't sure about how she felt. On Monday morning Claire got up at seven. Giving her just enough time to decide what to wear, do her makeup, gather any books and leave for school. Mickey had hired a driver and car for Claire. "A celebrity on the bus? Now how would that look?" He had said. No one except Layne knew and Claire had sworn her to secrecy. She took one last look in the mirror before leaving. Her hair was now is soft, loose curls and her bangs pinned up from her forehead. Her outfit was perfect, not something she would wear normally, but for today it was perfect. A Rag and Bone black jacket over a black and white striped dress that stopped at mid thigh. She wore of pair of skinny Sevens and a pair of patent leather, white heels. _A perfect ten_, she thought. Going out the door, Claire couldn't help but worry about people's reactions.

"Morning Miss." Her driver, Damien, said.

"Morning Damien." Claire said cheerfully. She buckled her seatbelt and they were off.

Claire stepped out of black town car as if she were stepping out at a premiere. She put on a pair of Armani aviators and walked towards the entrance. There were plenty of other cars dropping so Claire didn't feel at all inconspicuous. That is, until she got inside. Almost immediately after Claire set foot inside, she could hear whispers coming from all around her. People were being so rude as to point. She held her head high and continued walking. She followed signs to the office. She went in and walked up to the closest desk. "Hi. I'm Claire Lyons? Today's my first day." The woman looked up at her.

"Alright, hun. We've got you all registered. Now all that's left is your schedule and a guide." Claire spoke up quickly.

"Actually, I was wondering if my guide could be Layne Abeley. She and I are good friends." The lady stopped and looked at her for a moment. As if she were at a loss for words.

"Okay. We'll call her down as soon as the bell for homeroom rings. You can take a seat over there til then." She gestured towards the couch next to the door. Putting her sunglasses back into her bag, Claire sat down, put her iPod on and waited.

Massie watched as Alicia walked towards the car. "Hey Leesh!" Massie smiled.

"Hey! Like it?" She gestured to her outfit.

"It's beyond ah-dorable!" The girls giggled and chatted until they reached their next stop. Dylan stepped out her front door, walked as quickly as her 4 inch stilettos would carry her.

"Hey Mass! Hey Alicia!" The girls replied in unison.

"Hey!" they said together. All the girls giggled and shouted, "Apple-C!" The car lurched forward and they were moving again.

"Okay, so I've got gossip worth 4000 at least!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Okay. But wait til Kris gets here then tell us all." Just then, the car slowed to a stop. The girls watched Kristen come out of a mid-size Tudor style house. Fortunately for Kristen, her father had bought an art collection that was worth several million dollars. He sold it for a huge pay-off. The family had moved into this small neighborhood close to their high school.

"Hey Kristen!" the girls all greeted their friend.

"Ehmygawd! I have gossip worth at least 1000 points!!" Massie smiled. This had been the first normal morning since their sleepover with Claire.

"Okay, okay. Leesh. You're first. Then Kristen, you can go." Kristen sighed and sat back in her seat.

"Okay, this is short but ah-mazing info. So, you know when we went to the mall the other day? Well, apparently Cam and Derrington saw us. Cam started telling Derrington how much he missed Dylan and how he was so bummed that you guys broke up." The girls all squealed, causing Issac to stop the car. He rolled the partition down, a look of concern on his face.

"Ladies. Please. Let's not play this game again." The girls stopped and looked up.

"Sorry Issac." Massie said. As soon as the partition was completely up, Massie turned to Kristen. "Your turn Kristen!"

"Okay so, I was at soccer practice yesterday and this new guy joined the team. He's a total HART! He's going to go to our high school! He starts today!" The girls giggled.

"Okay, so Kristen obviously has dibs on this new guy." Massie laughed. "Dyl's got Cam and the rest of the guys are up for grabs!" They all burst out laughing. The car slowed down and they arrived in the parking lot.

Claire was bored. She had been sitting in the office for 20 minutes now and nothing had happened. Tons of people had come and gone since she'd arrived and not one of other new student. She pulled a script out of her bag and started reading. _No time like the present._ She thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a student come into the office. She ignored him and kept reading. She didn't even notice him sitting down beside her until he tapped her on the shoulder. When Claire looked up, she saw indigo blue eyes, shaggy light brown hair and a perfect smile. "Hi." Was all she could say and even that came out awkwardly.

"Hey." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Paul."Claire smiled.

"Hi Paul. It's nice to meet you. I'm Claire." She put the cap on her highliter and closed the script. "You new here too?" she asked.

"Yep. I moved from Seattle. How about you?" Claire smiled. He didn't seem to know who she was. Which surprised her but, in a good way.

"I actually went to middle school here but I moved out to LA at the beginning of eighth grade. I'm going to be here part-time. I'm an actress." She smiled warmly. Even if he didn't want to date her, they could still be great friends.

"So I take it that isn't for the school play?" He motioned to her script. She giggled and shook her head.

"I've gotten four scripts sent to me in the past month and so far, I want to do all of them. My favorite though, is this one about a girl whose mother and sister disappear without a trace. It's not really horror, it's mystery and action. She's got to follow the clues." He nodded.

"That's my favorite type of movie. Well, you've just secured yourself a date to the premiere, if you're interested, of course." Claire giggled.

"Considering we haven't even started filming. It could take a while. But, I'll remember that." Just then, the bell rang for homeroom.

"We're gonna be here for a while yet. Whose your tour guide?"

"My friend Layne is going to show me around. How about you?" He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Cameron Fisher." He read.

"Oh." Claire said coolly, "he's nice. He and I go way back." Paul winced.

"Ex-boyfriend, huh?" Claire laughed.

"Yep."

"I should probably get ready to go." He said glancing around. "Could I have your cell number though?" Claire nodded. "Here," he handed her the piece of paper with Cam's name on it. She grabbed a pen out of her bag and wrote her number down, _484-680-8782, Claire Lyons. _

"Claire?" the secretary said. "Layne's on her way."

"Okay, thanks so much." She turned to Paul. "I guess I'll see you later then!" The hugged and he kissed her on the cheek. Just then, Cam Fisher walked through the office door.

The Pretty Committee was gathered in the bathroom to put finishing touches on their makeup and perfect their outfits. One by one, Massie rated each girl. Dylan had assumed Alicia's role of "announcer". "Up first is Alicia." Dylan roared into her fist. She is sporting a turtleneck sweater dress with black leggings and black leather ankle boots. Topping it off with a long black necklace." Massie rolled her eyes. _She sounds like a freaking game show host. _She thought.

"9.7, Leesh!" Alicia smiled and returned to the side. "Dyl, you're up!" It was Alicia's turn to do the announcing.

"Dylan is wearing a ultra fab Nanette Lepore sequined shift dress and a pair of dark skinny Citizens of Humanity jeans. A pair of white leather ankle boots add an extra bit of flair." Massie shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked Dylan up and down.

"9.3." Massie finally said. Smiling, Dylan went and stood next to Alicia.

"Next up is Kristen. Keeping it comfy in a Free people thermal tee and a pair of wide leg, dark wash True Religion jeans." Massie sighed.

"9.3, I totally love the wide leg!" Kristen grinned and took her place next to Dylan. Massie was up now.

"Massie is looking hawt but keeping it simple in a red MARC by Marc Jacobs scarf tee and a pair of J-Brand, black skinny jeans. A pair of peep-toe patent leather black heels add the pizzazz." When Alicia said "pizzazz" all the girls turned to her, eyebrows raised. The all burst out laughing. Just then the bell rang. Each of the girls grabbed their things and made a mad dash for homeroom.

**A/N Okay so I liked the plot for this chapter but I think some of the stuff may have been confusing. Let me know! Review please! Let me know what you think of Paul? Should he stay around? By the way, someone asked me how old they are. They're all sophomores in high school and are, therefore, 15. I know the PC is rather immature but there is reasoning behind it. Review please!!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! (2 and a half hours in advance)**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this will probably be the last time I submit a chapter for a few days. School starts tomorrow which means homework and other awful things. Thanks for the reviews! **

Claire walked down the hall, arm in arm, with Layne. She was so happy to be back. Even the reactions of some of her old classmates didn't bother her. Most people stared, the girls glared, while the guys looked at her, wondering who she was. _Claire Lyons, formerly the weakest and least known member of the pretty committee, is back and better than ever. _She thought to herself. The awkward conversation with Cam hadn't dampened her spirits. Well, not really anyway.

**FLASHBACK TO THAT MORNING**

_Ahem. _Claire was afraid to turn her head. Even if all Paul had done was kiss her on the cheek, she still felt guilty.

"Hey Cam." Claire smiled guiltily. "This is Paul. Paul, this is Cam Fisher." Paul, who still had his arm around Claire's waist, stuck out his hand and Cam grudgingly stuck out his. The shook hands, Paul seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that Cam seemed to hate him. Just then the door opened and Layne walked in. Claire went over to greet her friend, leaving Cam and Paul to stare at each other. "Layne. Hey! So you have to meet Paul!" Paul turned to face Claire and Layne.

"Hey Paul. Nice to meetcha! Are you an actor too?" _Ah Layne and her infallible energy. _Claire thought. Paul laughed.

"No. I just moved here from Seattle. I did play a Lollipop boy in Wizard of Oz when I was seven." They all laughed, except for Cam, who continued to glare at Paul. _It's one thing that Claire is back, but now this Paul guy? He's taking what's rightfully mine. _Cam thought.

"We should really get going." Claire turned to Layne. "Wouldn't want to miss class!" she said sarcastically.

"Okay, let's go." Layne said, walking towards the door. "Nice meeting you Paul. See you in art Cam!"

"Bye guys!" Claire said. She waved.

"I'll call you later." Paul said.

"Sounds good. See ya Cam!" He gave her a weak wave and with that the girls were gone. Leaving the two guys alone. _This is unbelievable. _Cam thought. _How can he not get that I hate him._ Just then Paul turned to him.

"Okay. So I know you hate me, dude, but really, could you make a little less obvious around Claire? It'll probably just upset her." Cam stared at him, wide-eyed. _He's perfect! How the hell am I supposed to beat that?! _He thought.

"Fine," he mumbled, "let's go." They walked out the door in a heavy silence.

**FLASHBACK OVER**

"So," Claire said. "Where to next? Please say a fun class! I don't think I could stand another lecture!" Layne laughed.

"It's tough in real world, huh Lyons?" The laughed. "We have the funnest class of all now! Lunch."

"To the cafeteria!" Claire exclaimed. Off they went.

"Kris. Come on, We just got down here and you're already looking." Alicia whined.

"Yeah," Dylan said, "you don't want to look like a total LBR." Just then a huge group of guys led, of course, by Brandon. Settled down at their table.

"Hey babe." Brandon said, giving Massie a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey." Massie replied flirtatiously. Josh had settled in next to Alicia while the other guys sat at end. Kristen finally turned around.

"I don't see—Ehmygawd! Hi Paul." She waved to this gorgeous guy sitting at the end of the table with Cam and Derek. He gave her a small wave and returned to his conversation with Derek. All four girls heads whipped around to see Kristen's crush. Massie looked him over and turned to Brandon,

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend, Brandon?" Massie smiled.

"Oh. Uh, sure. Ladies, this is Paul. Paul this is Massie, Dylan, Alicia and Kristen." They all smiled. Two high pitched squeals came from behind them. Everyone turned to see Meena and Heather embracing so random blonde.

"Whatevs." Massie said and turned back to her lunch. Everyone else followed suit. Just then Paul looked up and waved to someone behind her. Massie turned around to see Claire, followed by Layne, Meena and Heather, making a beeline for their table. **A/N Okay, so I know that in the series Meena, Claire and Heather aren't great friends but, I made them better friends for the storyline. Okay, so I'm drawing a diagram cause otherwise it's going to bug me that no one will understand who's sitting where. Just ignore it if you want. And yes, I already know I'm a complete nerd. **

Kristen

Alicia

Josh

Chris

Cam

Paul

Dylan

Massie

Brandon

Kemp

Derek

Kristen glared, as did every other member of the PC, as Claire and her friends sat down across from Paul. "Bitch!" Kristen whisper-cried. Kristen already hated that Claire was back because now, Kristen had feared, that Claire's fame would bump Kristen down to the lowest rung. Though this hadn't happened, her hatred had grown when she heard Claire say she liked Cam and even more so now that Claire was sitting at _her _table flirting with _her _crush. The girls had gone back to their lunches and were ignoring Claire and the laughter coming from that end of the table. Derek had joined in the conversation while Cam sat quietly, staring at Claire. Lunch finally ended and as the girls were gathering their things, Kristen saw Claire and Paul walking out of the caf, his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist. _Fine, Kuh-laire. You want war? You got it. _

"Come on, Claire!" Layne was almost dragging her. "Meena and Heather will be so psyched! They've missed you so much!"

"Okay, Okay! Can we at least walk? I'm wearing heels!" she said attempting to release herself from Layne's grip.

"Fine." Layne sighed. "Can we at least power walk?" She said brightly. It was Claire's turn to sigh.

"Fine." As they neared the caf, Claire could already see some of her former classmates. Strawberry's bright pink hair could be seen from a distance, she was sitting the corner with Kori and some other girls, Claire didn't know. When they got to the entrance Layne stopped.

"Wait here." She said, running inside the doors. A minute later she returned. "Okay, let's go." Layne pulled her through the door where Claire saw two girls standing about three feet away. "Meena. Heather. I think you remember--" She was cut off by shrieks and giggles from both of her friends.

"Oh my gawd!" Meena cried. "Why are you here?!" They were still giggly.

"I go here!" Claire said, throwing out her out her hands, as if to say, "Ta da!" The girls giggled again and hugged Claire. When they broke apart, Claire caught a glimpse of Paul. She waved and so did he. "Come on guys. I want you to meet Paul!" The girls made their way towards the table. Claire had assumed that Cam would be somewhere nearby but she also noticed that the entire Pretty Committee was not only sitting a few seats away but, were also watching every move she made. _Perfect. Time do you what you do best. _She smiled flirtatiously and walked over towards Paul. "Hey!" She said.

"Hey." He replied, a wide grin was spread across his face.

"I just wanted to introduce you to a few of my friends! Paul, this is Meena, Heather and Layne, who you've already met." He gave them a small wave.

"Nice to meet you." He said politely. "You guys wanna sit down?" Claire turned to her friends who nodded. They took seats at the table. Claire could see Kristen glaring from the other end of the table but, she ignored her.

"How's your first day so far?" Layne asked.

"It's good, I miss my old school but there are some good things about this school too." He grinned at Claire when he spoke.

"How about you Claire?" Derek spoke up.

"It's been good. I've gotten a few autograph or picture requests. A lot of people don't seem to care. Which I'm glad about, it's not like I'm really famous or whatever but people always recognize me and ask for my autograph and all." They all nodded. Claire could see Cam, who was sitting next to Paul, sulking. _He's probably still upset over the kiss. _She just had to ignore him and continue the conversation. The rest of lunch went by quickly, before they knew it the bell rang and everyone started headed for the stairs."Hey," Paul said. "What class do you have now?" Claire couldn't help but smile.

"Um. Hang on." She reached into her bag and pulled out her schedule. "I have English with Martin now."

"Really?" his eyes brightened. "Same here! Let's go." He put his arm around her shoulder and they walked out of the cafeteria together.

Sorry for the shorter chapter. I have a lot of homework this weekend. Ugh.


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, so there were a bunch of problems, formatting wise, on the last chapter. Sorry about that! I make it clearer when I'm switching points of view! Okay so on with the story. By the way, Connor is not gone for good, just for now. **

_Briinng._ Paul and Claire made it into their English class just as the bell rang. They took the two empty seats in the back, Claire noticed Layne sitting on the other side of the room and waved. Just then, Derek came in, followed by a few guys Claire didn't really know. He slid into the seat directly in front of her and turned around. "Hey Claire. What's up?" He smiled warmly.

"Hey." She said, _Wow, he's so much nicer than he used to be. _Just then a guy, who looked to be about college age, came in and stood at the front of the classroom. _Ahem!_ He cleared his throat loudly and everyone quieted down at once. Claire and Paul exchanged glances.

"Good Afternoon. Before we get started I would like to introduce two new students." He gestured to Claire and Paul and the entire class turned around. "Paul Marcos and Claire Lyons. Could you two stand up and tell us where you're from and two things about yourself?" Both nodded and stood up reluctantly. "Paul, you can go first."

"Uh. Hey. I'm Paul Marcos. I moved here from Seattle, Washington. I played soccer for the US Men's U-16 team last year (**A/N There really is such a team, they go all the way down to U-13, I think) **until I was injured and uh, I'm fluent in German, Chinese and French." He sat down quickly. Mr. Martin looked at Claire, as did everyone else.

"Hi. I'm Claire Lyons. I'm originally from West Chester but I moved to L.A. three years ago. I'll be a part-time student here as I'm filming a new movie due out next winter. So far I've starred in six movies, the first being _Dial L for Loser." _She took a deep breath and sat down. Just then, she felt her phone vibrate. _New message from 451-951-1800, _it flashed. She flipped it open.

**451-951-1800: Has every class been like this? **

**Claire: Pretty much. Who is this?**

**451-951-1800: I can't tell you right now. **

**Claire: Why not? **

**451-951-1800: You'll find out soon. **

Claire looked up and her eyes scanned the classroom. No one seemed to have their cell phones out. Sighing, she put her phone back in her pocket and listened to Mr. Martin's lecture. She glanced over at Paul, he was staring off into space but when he saw her turn her head he smiled. She put her head down on the desk. Finally, about an hour later the bell rang and she left for her next class.

**llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

Massie strutted down the hall. As she walked she could see people stare. Holding in her smile, she walked with a purpose. Suddenly, some LBR freshman started walking towards her and then she walked right past her. Massie ignored it until she heard the girl say, "OMG! Aren't you Claire Lyons? Can I have your autograph?" Massie stopped dead in her tracks. Had people been staring at her? Or were they staring at Claire? She turned around and saw a crowd, mostly of guys, formed around her. Massie walked straight through the group, grabbed Claire's arm and pulled her into the bathrooms.

"Hey!" Claire said, obviously offended. "What are you doing?!" Massie released her arm.

"We need to talk." She said sternly. "What the hell are you doing here? Can't you get, like, a tutor or something?"

"Mass," Claire said with fake concern, "don't you want me here? I thought we were friends!" Massie had to suppress her laughter.

"Of course, we're friends but I'm worried about how _other_ people will treat you." Claire rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Massie. I heard you guys talking, I know you guys don't want me here and guess what! I don't care. I've got friends who actually care about my well-being. Leave. Me. Alone!" With that Claire tore out of the bathroom and sped down the hallway. She glanced behind her and ran into some guy. She dropped some of her books and his paper's went flying. "Ehmygawd! I'm so, so sorry." She began grabbing books and papers before they had gotten stepped on.

"It's okay, I saw you coming and didn't think to move." He chuckled. The voice sounded familiar but Claire couldn't quite place it. She finally looked up at this mysterious guy, coming face to face with….

**Heeheehee! I figured I'd make it a cliff hanger. This is a tad short. I think the mystery person is a tad obvious but… review!!!! Eh, Screw it I don't want to stop writing. **

…. "Connor!?!?" Claire shrieked. "What the hell are you doing here!" He shifted uncomfortably,

"I'm not Connor. I'm Marcus." He offered his hand. Claire just stood, hands on her hips, even with the dark curly hair, Claire wasn't fooled.

"Well, fine if you really aren't Connor you won't have a birthmark shaped like a top hat on your wrist. He immediately pulled his sleeve down but she was too quick. "HA!" Connor sighed.

"I wanted to see you and since you wouldn't see me any other way, I got a wig and Laurelle put some makeup on me to change my face. I can't believe you recognized me." He looked embarrassed but pleased at the same time. "Can we talk?"

"No. It's over Connor. I asked for time and you just ignored me, so I'm done. Now f off!" She shook her head and ran away, her eyes welling up with tears. She sped towards the back staircases. On her tour, Layne had shown Claire the quietest place in the entire school. No one ever used the back stairs. She threw her backpack down and leaned against a wall. She slid down the wall letting out a sob. She cried for a long time. She knew she'd almost missed all of her class, not that it mattered. A good cry was much more important to her. _Bzzzz, bzzzz. _Claire phone vibrated. She glanced down. _New message from 451-951-1800, _it read. She flipped it open and read.

**451-951-1800: U ok? **

**Claire: Who is this?! **

**451-951-1800: I can't tell you right now. **

**Claire: If this is Connor I swear to god, if you don't leave me alone I'm getting a restraining order. **

**451-951-1800: It's not Connor. I just saw you take off crying. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. **

**Claire: I'm okay. **

**451-951-1800: Good. I should go the teacher's getting suspicious. **

**Claire: Thanks. **

**451-951-1800: No Prob. **

Claire flipped her phone shut and let out a sigh. She gathered her bag and glanced at the clock. _12:30, _it read. _15 minutes left of 3__rd__ block. _She sat back down, pulled out her script and started to read.

**lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

Claire was standing outside at 3 o'clock waiting for Marco. She looked around taking in her surroundings. Almost every girl was dressed in designer clothing, tapping their stilettos, waiting for their drivers. She was startled to feel someone arm on her shoulder. "Hey." She heard a guy's voice. Turning her head, she saw a wide grin spread across Paul's face.

"Hey!" she said, pulling him into a hug. "What's up?"

"Well," he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I missed my bus and was hoping to beg a ride off of someone." He gave her an innocent look.

"I can give you one, don't worry."

"What are you up to this Saturday?" he said, grinning.

"I'm working til 4:30, but I have the evening off. Fortunately, I made sure that in the contract, they gave me Saturday nights free." **(I have no idea how it actually works, sorry!) **Claire giggled.

"I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me." He said looking down at the ground.

"I'd love to!" Claire beamed. Just then, Claire heard bursts of laughter coming through the doors. She turned to see the Pretty Committee strutting down the steps. Massie saw Claire and led the girls straight for her. Claire put on her best smile and grabbed Paul's hand. He did nothing except grin wider.

"Hey Kuh-laire. What happened to your shoes?" Massie asked, her voice oozing with fake concern.

"Um. Nothing that I know of." Claire made her voice as warm as possible.

"Really? Well, lets see if we can change that." Alicia pulled a bottle from behind her back and emptied the contents of it onto her white heels. The girls smirked as they waited for Claire reaction. Claire simply pulled off her now red shoes, carried them over to a trashcan, pulled out a pair of black flats and slipped them on. Claire smiled as she saw each of their faces drop in disappointment.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? My first day at OCD," Claire laughed, "You guys poured red paint all over my white pants. You've got to work on your bullying techniques, slacking off a little eh? Even blackmailing me with another picture of me kissing some guy would be more original." Just then a black SUV pulled up behind her and she turned to get in, pulling Paul behind her. When they got in the car, Claire noticed Paul staring at her, a dazed look on his face. "Paul? Are you okay?"

"Uh, Yeah." he seemed to snap out of what ever was going on in his mind. "Sorry, I just realized can't go out on Friday. I've got a major test to study for and I really can't deal with bad grades right now." He sounded nervous.

"That's okay. I've got, like, an hour before I need to be on the set. You want to come over and hang out?" She was confused he was acting weirdly.

"No. I think it'd be better if I just went home." For the rest of the ride home, they were silent. _What happened? _Claire wanted to ask. She hadn't done anything to the PC, just stand up to them. The car slowed to a stop and Paul jumped out before Claire could say anything else. When he was gone, she put her head back and sighed.

"Long day, miss?" Claire smiled weakly.

"Definitely." She closed her eyes and listened to the soft Classical music playing on the stereo.

**lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

The PC was sitting in Massie room. The girls were all quiet. Massie was furious. Claire had no right to come back! People were talking more about Claire's arrival than the PC. Not a good thing. More than anything though, Massie was upset because she actually missed Claire, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit proud when Claire brushed off their "prank". Massie was pulled back into reality when Kristen spoke.

"Ehmawgawd! Paul just IM'd me!" The girls all tore over to the computer.

**SeattleSoccer16: Hey Kristen. **

**SexySportsBabe: nm, chilling with the pc **

**SeattleSoccer16: Who's 'the pc'? **

**SexySportsBabe: It's what my friends and I call ourselves. I'm at Massie's.**

**SeattleSoccer16: So that means everyone of your friends is reading over your shoulder. **

Kristen looked around and Massie nodded.

**SexySportsBabe: No, they're playing dress-up or something. **

**SeattleSoccer16: Not really your thing? **

**SexySportsBabe: No. I'm all about Soccer. **

**SeattleSoccer16: Cool….I was wondering something. **

**SexySportsBabe?**

**SeattleSoccer16: Does Claire have a boyfriend or something? **

The girls mouthes all dropped open. "What the hell!" Massie schreeched. "Can't we go an hour without hearing Claire's name?!"

"What do I say??" Kristen was wide-eyed.

"Yes, duh!" Massie reached her hands in and typed.

**SexySportsBabe: Yeah, I think she's going out with Connor Foley. **

**SeattleSoccer16: Okay. I wasn't sure. Thanks. G2g. **

**SexySportsBabe: No prob. L8er! **

The girls giggled and started pull out the best clothes they could find. Tomorrow there'd be war.

**So very sorry it took so long to update! I have been working my butt off getting ready for finals!!!! I wrote this chapter in bits and pieces so I'm really sorry it's a tad on the sloppy side. I promise the next chapter will be better! Review!!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I feel soooooooooooo awful that I haven't updated lately. Starting a new semester is always insane but I'm more settled now!!! Okay, so I haven't done any disclaiming for this story so I'll tend to that right now. **

**I own Paul and Sarah. I don't own any one else! Now that I'm through with that, I shall proceed with the story. **

The Pretty Committee pushed through the doors of the high school looking their best. Massie couldn't help but smirk as people, specifically guys, turned their heads and stared for as long as they could. Massie was front and center, wearing a BCBG Cream Sweater Dress with Dark wash Sevens tucked into a pair of camel suede boots. Alicia was wearing a Ralph Lauren metallic bubble skirt with a cashmere turtleneck. She had on black, opaque stockings and black pumps. Dylan was wearing a green Betsey Johnson mini-dress with dark wash Citizen jeans and a pair of green satin pumps with a pointed toe. Kristen had raided Massie's closet until she found the perfect outfit. She wore a BCBG Black and white color block dress with a pair of True Religion skinny jeans and white patent leather pumps with a pointy heel. _Everything is back to normal, _Massie thought. That was the case until lunch, the girls strutted in and took their seats. Kristen spent half the lunch staring longingly at Paul who seemed to have made friends with Derrick and Cam. Massie rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.

**Massie: Kris! Just go talk to him. **

**Kristen: What do I say? **

**Massie: Improvise. Talk about soccer, duh! **

Kristen rolled her eyes, snapped her phone shut and stood up. She walked over and sat down next to Cam and across from Paul. "Hey guys! Mind if I join you down here?"

"Yea, no problem." Paul said kindly. Kristen beamed.

"Thanks! So. You ready for the game tomorrow?" She began twirling a piece of her already curled hair.

"Yeah. As ready as I can be I--" he stopped talking and looked past Kristen's head. She turned and saw Claire walk in, arm in arm with Layne. Claire threw them a glance but ignored Paul's wave. He sighed dejectedly and leaned his head on his hand.

"Hey, Paul! Why so sad?" She asked, as if she didn't already know.

"I really like Claire but, I don't want to mess with her boyfriend." Kristen held back a wince as Cam and Derrick looked up.

"Claire has a boyfriend?!" They said in unison.

"Yeah, Connor Foley. You know that actor?" Paul sounded so depressed. Cam rolled his eyes and glared at Kristen, he knew what she was up too. Even if he didn't have Claire, that doesn't mean he didn't want her to be happy.

"They broke up. Believe me, I know _all_ about it." Cam started to put stuff in his backpack.

"When?!" Paul perked up.

"About 3 weeks ago. Didn't she tell you?" Paul looked over to where Claire was sitting with Heather, Meena and Layne.

"No. Kristen said--" Kristen cut in to save herself from humiliation.

"Actually, Alicia told me that they had gotten back together but I guess she could be wrong." She said, narrowly avoiding major embarrassment. Paul started to smile.

"I should go talk to her, I freaked out cause she said something about blackmailing yesterday that freaked me out. I thought she had a boyfriend." He shoved his Math textbook into his backpack and went over to the table where Claire was sitting. Kristen watched as she got up and followed him out of the cafeteria. A few minutes later, they returned, hand in hand. Grins spread across both of their faces. They sat down and the group chatted for a few minutes before the bell rang and they left for their next class. Kristen was so upset she was almost crying. _How could I lose a guy like Paul to Kuh-laire?_ She thought. Along with the rest of the PC, she left the cafeteria looking defeated.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Claire pushed through the doors of the high school and smirked as nearly every head turned. She had been lazy this morning, throwing on a Marc by Marc Jacobs purple silk top with a pair of medium wash Sevens and a pair of gold, peeptoe heels. Her hair was down and she was wearing very little makeup. She felt kind of like her old self, just with better clothes. _So what if Paul doesn't want anything to do with me? Kristen can have him. _She held her head high and strutted down the hall.

The bell rang and Claire nearly sprinted out of her classroom. She had a plan, she wanted to test whether or not Paul liked her enough to apologize for his weird behavior the day before. "Hey Claire!" She glanced behind her and saw Cam catching up with her.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"How are you? I haven't really talked to you since you've been here." He spoke nicely but Claire could tell how awkward he felt.

"I'm good. It's nice to be back in school. Even if it is only part-time, I'm glad to be here." She gave him a sideways smile.

"That's good." Both teens walked quietly for a moment.

"You're not mad are you?" Claire asked, breaking the silence.

"About what?" he said quietly. Claire had to keep from rolling her eyes. _He knows what._ She thought.

"I'm sorry that I've treated you so badly. Really, the thing with Paul is nothing. He and I are just friends and _believe_ me when I say it won't be anything more." She looked straight ahead, to afraid to look at him.

"Why not?" he sounded surprised.

"He and I just don't work. We're not exactly a pair. He belongs with, like, Kristen or something." She did a terrible job, masking her disappointment. He looked sideways at her, resisting the urge to hug her and hold her hand.

"So. No guys right now then?" He asked sheepishly.

"Pretty much. It's what is smartest. I mean, I should really focus on my career and school. Guys are just an extra." She sighed.

"Yeah, that's what I would do if I were in your shoes. I mean, if I were a girl and…uh…you know what I mean." He laughed at his own awkwardness.

"Yeah." She giggled. They stopped in front of her locker. "Friends?" she said, sticking out her hand.

"Definitely." He smiled and shook her hand. He could've sworn she'd held on for an extra second before turning to open her locker. He waited until he was halfway down the hall before turning around. He hoped she would've watched him, but she was busy talking to Layne.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The girls had a plan, everything was ready, and Claire wanted to make him regret ditching her. She and Layne walked down to the cafeteria after discussing the plan. Claire did not like what she was going to have to do but she wanted Paul and she'd stop at nothing to get him. As they walked into the cafeteria, Claire could see Paul and Kristen sitting together out of the corner of her eye. He waved but she just turned her head away. They walked over to their table where Meena and Heather were already sitting. "Hey!" she smiled warmly and hardly glanced out of the corner of her eye. _He looks miserable_, she thought.

"What's up?" Meena said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Nothing why?" She bite her lip to conceal her grin.

"You seem kind of shifty or something?" Heather said, apparently she had noticed it too. Layne barely let out a giggle and the girls immeadiately turned on her.

"What is going on!?" Meena almost shouted. Layne looked to Claire and raised he eyebrows. Claire let out all of the laughter she had been holding in. Layne followed suit and finally, they had calmed down enough to explain.

"I'm trying to test Paul. So far it's working. We've got a plan." Claire smirked and gestured to Layne, whose face dropped abruptly. Suddenly, Claire noticed, there was another person at the table. She grimaced as she turned her head to see a grinning Paul.

"So," he said, "tell me more about this plan of yours. To get what's that guys name again? Paul, was it?" Heather let out a giggle and Claire gave her a look that said, _Shut up!!. _Claire giggled nervously.

"It's a long story, can I tell you about outside?" She smiled shyly.

"Course, let's go." They left the cafeteria and went into the small lobby. "So. The cold shoulder was what? A test?"

"Kind of…" Claire trailed off, she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "What happened yesterday? You asked me out then all of sudden freaked out and changed your mind." It was his turn to be embarrassed.

"Oh. Uh. I, uh, thought you like had a boyfriend." He said quietly, kicking the floor.

"What? Why would you think that? No way! Other than one ex who's stalking me. I'm on really great terms with the rest of them. Cam and I are great friends now, and the rest of them are back in L.A." She smiled.

"So…" he said. His eyes still focused on the floor. "Want to hang out sometime?" Claire responded by giving him a peck on the cheek. His cheeks turned red and he grinned. They hugged then went back into the cafeteria hand-in-hand.

**Okay, so I'm not sure but I kind of want to end it here. I have great idea for another story and I know it's not the longest, I think I will. Tell me what you think? Should I continue with the Claire/Paul/Cam storyline or end it now while I'm still ahead? I will start on my other story so look for it soon!!!!!!!!**


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